LONDON, Aug 19: Pakistan were dismissed for 504 late on the rain-affected third day of the fourth and final Test against England on Saturday, giving the touring side a 331-run first-innings lead.

England, are sure of winning the series, though, after taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the third Test at Headingley.

Their batsmen are due to face 23 overs before the close.

Steve Harmison took the last two wickets in three balls to finish with four for 125 while Matthew Hoggard took three for124.

England's pace bowlers found their bearings to dislodge Pakistan century-maker Mohammad Yousuf before tea.The touring side, though, chasing a consolation win after going 2-0 down in the series, remained in total control despite losing three wickets in quick succession.

Faisal Iqbal, the last recognised batsman, who was on 25 not out at tea, finished on an unbeaten 58. Shahid Nazir went for 17 off the final ball before the break, slogging out at fast bowler Sajid Mahmood and holing out to mid-on.

Pakistan, having reached 379 for three on a soggy, stop-start day, lost Inzamam-ul-Haq (31) and Yousuf (128) within six balls and two runs of each other shortly after an afternoon rain break.

Harmison got rid of Inzamam with a lifter which flew off the shoulder of the bat to Andrew Strauss at second slip and Hoggard then accounted for Yousuf, who pushed forward and feathered a catch behind. Shortly afterwards wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, having clattered 15 off 13 balls, also fell to Harmison off an edge to third slip.

The final passage of play before tea was an extraordinary turnaround, for Harmison in particular.

He had spent most of Friday and all of Saturday morning looking isolated and unsettled, pitching short and spraying the ball wide on both sides of the wicket.

Suddenly something seemed to click. He picked up his pace, targeted off stump and Inzamam and Kamran quickly paid the price.

Yousuf, who made 202 in the first Test and 192 in the third, currently averages 90.14 for the series, yet the frequent rain breaks clearly deprived him of his fluency. He produced just six scoring shots from 45 balls on Saturday after resuming on 115 not out. In all, he batted for five hours and 44 minutes, hitting 18 fours.

The right-hander has scored 1.123 runs in the calendar year, making him the top-scorer in Test cricket.

It was left to Inzamam to produce the day's few flourishes.

His team resumed on 336 for three and he soon contributed two sumptuous back-foot boundaries in the five overs available before the first downpour.

Returning, he rapidly added three more off Harmison. The paceman, though, headed for tea with a spring in his step at last.

His sudden change in fortune during the afternoon had given him two wickets for one run in 15 balls. Before getting Inzamam's wicket, he had bowled just over 46 overs, at The Oval and at Headingley, without a single success.

Scoreboard

ENGLAND (1st Innings) 173 (Umar Gul 4-47, Mohammad Asif 4-56).

PAKISTAN (1st Innings, overnight 336-3):

Mohammad Hafeez c Strauss b Hoggard 95

Imran Farhat c Tres’thick b Hoggard 91

Younis Khan c Read b Mahmood 9

Mohammad Yousuf c Read b Hoggard 128

Inzamam-ul-Haq c Strauss b Harmison 31

Faisal Iqbal not out 58

Kamran Akmal c C’wood b Harmison 15

Shahid Nazir c Hoggard b Mahmood 17

Umar Gul lbw b Panesar 13

Danish Kaneria c Tres’thick b Harmison 15

Mohammad Asif c Cook b Harmison 0

EXTRAS (B-4, LB-9, W-11, NB-8) 32

TOTAL (all out, 129.5 overs) 504

FALL OF WKTS: 1-70, 2-148, 3-325, 4-379, 5-381, 6-398, 7-444, 8-475, 9-504.

BOWLING: Hoggard 34-2-124-3 (6nb); Harmison 30.5-6-125-4 (1nb, 3w); Mahmood 27-3-101-2 (1nb); Panesar 30-6-103-1; Collingwood 6-0-29-0; Pietersen 2-0-9-0.—Agencies